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Gc 973.74 M38ma 1764834
REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALUSY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 00824 8210
HISTORY
OF THE
THIRTY-SIXTH REGIMENT
MASSACHUSETTS VOLUNTEERS.
1862-1865.
BY A COMMITTEE OF THE REGIMENT.
THE NEWBERRY LIBRARY
BOSTON : PRESS OF ROCKWELL AND CHURCHILL. 89 ARCH STREET. 1884.6
1764834
TO
Our Comrades
OF THE
THIRTY-SIXTH MASSACHUSETTS VOLUNTEERS
THIS RECORD OF A COMMON EXPERIENCE
IS
AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED.
$88POP1
Ah, never shall the land forget How gushed the life-blood of her brave, - Gushed, warm with hope and courage yet, - Upon the soil they sought to save.
Now all is calm, and fresh, and still; Alone the chirp of flitting bird, And talk of children on the hill, And bell of wand'ring kine, are heard.
No solemn host goes trailing by, The black-mouthed gun and stag'ring wain ; Men start not at the battle-cry; Oh, be it never heard again !
- WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT.
PREFACE.
Nor long after the close of the war a plan was proposed, by some of the officers of the regiment, for the preparation of a history of the Thirty-sixth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteers ; but the plan was not carried into execution. At the regimental reunions, in subsequent years, parts of such a history were read by Comrades White, Ranlett, and Hodg- kins, and the desire for a complete history of the regiment, which found expression on these occasions, was so strong that, at the reunion of the regiment at Worcester, in Septem- ber, 1876, a committee, consisting of Comrades White, Ranlett, Burrage, and Hodgkins, was appointed to procure materials for a history of the regiment.
Some progress was made by the committee in the perform- ance of the work thus assigned to them; but it was not so great as they, or their comrades of the Thirty-sixth, desired. At the reunion, September 2, 1879, the matter was again con- sidered, and it was finally voted, "that Comrades White, Ranlett, Hodgkins, Burrage, and Noyes, be chosen a com- mittee to have charge of the compiling, revising, and print- ing the history of the regiment, to be ready for delivery at our next reunion ; and that the committee have power to procure any help they may need."
vii
viii
PREFACE.
Many difficulties were encountered in the progress of the work, and it was found that it would be impossible to pre- pare, within the limit of time prescribed, such a history as would be worthy of the regiment. The different members of the committee, amid the activities of busy lives, could give to the work only such intervals of leisure as they could find amid their daily tasks. At the annual reunions of 1880, 1881, and 1882, -testing the patience of their comrades · who had entrusted to them this important task, -they were compelled to report progress only. In September, 1883, - the last reunion, - however, they were able to say that the work was already in press, and would be ready for deliv- ery in the course of a few weeks.
In the table of contents will be found the names of the au- thors of the different chapters. The work of Comrades White, Ranlett, Olin, and Noyes, entitles them to the hearty thanks of all their companions in arms. Especially, however, are such thanks due to Comrade W. H. Hodgkins, not only for his own contribution to the history, but also for his careful atten- tion to the innumerable details which the preparation of such a work required. Indeed, without his unwearied endeavors in gathering materials, securing the cooperation of others, and attending to the business of publication, the history would not so soon, and might never, have been completed.
To the writer of these lines was assigned the editorial supervision of the work. From the materials placed in his hands he arranged the history of the regiment as it now appears. Two proof- of the entire work have passed under his eye, and in this part of his task he has had the invaluable assistance of Major Hodgkins. The history, of course, is not free from errors of statement; and it will doubtless be
PREFACE.
ix - %
found that there are omissions which the writers of the differ- ent chapters, as well as their comrades, will deeply deplore. Yet, with all its imperfections, this volume is believed to be substantially a faithful history of the part which the regi- ment had in the great conflict for the preservation of the National Union, which was waged during the years 1862- 1865; and, as such, it is certainly a history of which all those who participated in it may well be proud.
PORTLAND, ME., Sept. 26, 1883.
H. S. B.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
PAGE
ORGANIZATION OF THE REGIMENT. - ALONZO A. WHITE 1-10
CHAPTER II.
11-18
TO THE FRONT. - ALONZO A. WHITE
1
CHAPTER III.
IN VIRGINIA. - ALONZO A. WHITE
.
.
19-36
CHAPTER IV.
THE KENTUCKY CAMPAIGN. - S. ALONZO RANLETT
37-48
CHAPTER V. -
IN THE REAR OF VICKSBURG. - S. ALONZO RANLETT
49-57
CHAPTER VI.
THE MOVEMENT ON JACKSON. - S. ALONZO RANLETT
58-72
CHAPTER VII.
THE RETURN TO KENTUCKY. - S. ALONZO RANLETT
73-78
CHAPTER VIII.
IN EAST TENNESSEE. - S. ALONZO RANLETT
79-87
CHAPTER IX.
THE RETREAT FROM LENOIR'S AND THE BATTLE OF CAMP-
.
.
SS-100
BELL'S STATION. - HEXBY S. BUFRAGE
.
. xi
-
xii
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER X. PAGE
THE SIEGE OF KNOXVILLE. - HENRY S. BURRAGE
101-122
CHAPTER XI.
SUBSEQUENT OPERATIONS IN EAST TENNESSEE. - HENRY S. BUR-
RAGE ·
· 123-134
CHAPTER XII.
REORGANIZATION. -- WILLIAM HI. HODGKINS . . 135-145
CHAPTER XIII.
IN THE WILDERNESS. - WILLIAM HI. HODGKINS . 146-159
CHAPTER XIV.
AT SPOTTSYLVANIA. - WILLIAM H. HODGKINS . 160-177
CHAPTER XV.
ON THE NORTH ANNA AND TIIE PAMENKEY. - WILLIAM H. . 178-187
HODGKINS ·
.
CHAPTER XVI.
AT COLD HARBOR. - WILLIAM H. HODGKINS . 188-200
CHAPTER XVII.
THE MOVEMENT ON PETERSBURG. - WILLIAM H. HODGKINS . 201-215
CHAPTER XVIII.
IN THE TRENCHES. - WILLIAM H. HODGKINS . 216-222
CHAPTER XIX.
DIARY OF THE SIEGE. - WILLIAM H. HODGKINS 223-232
CHAPTER XX.
THE MINE AFFAIR. - WILLIAM HI. HODGKINS
233-241
CHAPTER XXI.
THE SIEGE CONTINUED. - WILLIAM H. HODGKINS 242-252
CONTENTS. xiii
CHAPTER XXII.
PAGE
IN THE PINES. - EDMUND W. NOYES . 253-257
CHAPTER XXIII.
THE ACTION AT PEGRAM FARM. - EDMUND W. NOYES · 258-265
CHAPTER XXIV.
AGAIN IN THE TRENCHES. - EDMUND W. NOTES 266-275
CHAPTER XXV.
IN WINTER QUARTERS. - WILLIAM H. HODGKINS 276-231
CHAPTER XXVI.
THE FINAL ASSAULT AT PETERSBURG. - WILLIAM M. OLIN 282-291
CHAPTER XXVII.
CLOSING SCENES. - WILLIAM H. HODGKINS 292-311
CHAPTER XXVIII.
CONCLUSION. - WILLIAM H. HODGKINS . 312-315
ROSTER AND RECORD OF THE THIRTY-SIXTH REGIMENT OF MASSACHUSETTS VOLUNTEERS, COMPILED AND CORRECTED BY WILLIAM H. HODGKINS 316
RECAPITULATION . 385
NAMES OF MEMBERS OF THE REGIMENT WHO DIED IN REBEL PRISONS
386
NARRATIVE OF ISRAEL H. SMITH . 387
INDEX . . . . 391
1
THIRTY-SIXTH REGIMENT, MASSACHUSETTS VOLUNTEERS.
CHAPTER I.
ORGANIZATION OF THE REGIMENT.
EARLY in July, 1862, when the war of the rebellion had been in progress a little more than a year, President Lincoln issued an order for three hundred thousand volunteers, to serve three years, or during the war. It was a time of sore discouragement and general depression throughout the loyal States. Our army in Virginia, under General Mcclellan, during a seven days' fight near the Chickahominy, had met with such reverses that it had been compelled to "make a change of base," and fall back to the James river, near Harrison's Landing. Nobly, however, and cheerfully, did the people of the North respond to the President's call for reinforcements. On every hand was heard the chorus : -
" We're coming, Father Abraham, three hundred thousand more."
Massachusetts was not behind her sister States in raising her quota, which was fifteen thousand men. In a general order, dated July 7, 1862, Governor Andrew announced the call which had been made upon him by the President, stated the number of men which every city and town would be re- quired to furnish, and closed with these words : "The gov-
2
THIRTY-SIXTH REGIMENT.
July,
ernment demands new regiments, and our brave men who have so nobly upheld the honor of Massachusetts call loudly from the battle-fields of the South to their brethren at home to come forward at once and till their decimated ranks, and take the places of the brave men who have fallen and suffered in the cause of the Union and of American Constitutional Liberty." Like the blast of a trumpet this order stirred the hearts of the people in all parts of the state, and cities and towns vied with each other, in patriotic endeavors to hurry forward the work of enlistment.
A subsequent order, dated July 16, 1862, containing instructions relative to the new recruitment, designated Camp Jolin E. Wool. at the city of Worcester, as the general rendezvous for the counties of Berkshire, Franklin, Hamp- den, Hampshire, and Worcester. Colonel George HI. Ward, of the Fifteenth Massachusetts Volunteers, who had lost a leg at the battle of Ball's Bluff, and was now at home on account of disability, was placed in command of the camp.
The order of July 7th contained this announcement : "The new regiments now partly formed, and to be formed, are the Thirty-second, Thirty-third, Thirty-fourth, Thirty-fifth, Thirty-sixth, and Thirty-seventh. To complete these regi- ments to the maximum standard, the Thirty-second regiment requires 300 men ; the Thirty-third, 650 men; the Thirty- fourth. 800 men : and the Thirty-tifth, 850 men." It was accordingly ordered that recruiting for the Thirty-sixth and Thirty-seventh regiments should not commence until the four first named were filled. The order, however, was not strictly observed.
The first detachment for the Thirty-sixth entered Camp Wool August 1st, and was a part of the quota of the town of Fitchburg. This detachment consisted of sixty-four men, under the command of Captain T. L. Barker. Recruits for the regiment had been received at Camp Wool previous to August Ist ; but this was the first organized company in camp. and, in the organization of the regiment, it was assigned to the right of
.
3
1862.
ORGANIZATION OF THE REGIMENT.
the line, and known as Company A. As early as August 6th this company had its minimum number of recruits ; and, in a few days, others, from Fitchburg, Leominster, and adjacent towns, raised the number to the maximum.
Company B, Captain John B. Norton, was recruited in Charlestown during the month of July. . It was at first intended that this company should be attached to the Thirty-fourth Regiment as a flank company, and the officers at first received commissions in that regiment; but the requisite authority for such a company could not be obtained at the War Department. and the company was transferred to the Thirty-sixth, and the officers re-commissioned. For a time, very naturally, it was a disappointment to the members of this company that they could not remain in the Thirty- fourth ; but of the survivors there is, doubtless, not one who is not satisfied that the record of the company was made with the Thirty-sixth.
Recruiting for Company C was commenced in the city of Worcester, August 8th, and on the 12th the company was full. Eight days after, under the command of Captain Arthur A. Goodell, the company entered Camp Wool. No other company in the regiment was raised in so brief a space of time.
Company D was recruited principally in the towns of Templeton and Winchendon. The first detachment entered Camp Wool, August 4;under the command of Captain Amos Buffum, of Baldwinville, late second lieutenant in the Twenty-fifth Massachusetts Volunteers. In a few days the ranks of this company were full.
The men of Company E were recruited from the towns of Palmer. Monson, and the western towns of Worcester County. The first detachment entered Camp Wool, August 10th, under the command of First Lieutenant R. M. Cross. Captain S. C. Warriner, who had been discharged from the Tenth Massachusetts Volunteers, in order to accept a captain's commission in the Thirty-sixth. arrived in camp about the
:
4
THIRTY-SIXTII REGIMENT.
August,
20th of August, and assumed command of the company, and completed its organization.
Company F was formed principally of recruits from Milford and vicinity, with a detachment from Sutton. The first detachment arrived at Camp Wool August 10th, under the command of Second Lieutenant A. S. Tuttle. He remained in command of the company until September 17, when Cap- tain William F. Draper, promoted from first lieutenant in the Twenty-fifth Massachusetts Volunteers, joined the regi- ment then in the field, and assumed command of the com- pany.
Company G was organized from unassigned recruits, representing the eastern towns of Worcester County. S. Henry Bailey, of Northboro', was commissioned captain of the company August 22d.
Company Il was formed by adding to the quotas of Gard- ner and Orange the unassigned recruits then in camp ; and Christopher Sawyer, of Templeton, who had entered Camp Wool as first sergeant of Company D, was commissioned captain of this company August 22d.
Company 1 was recruited in Berlin, Marlboro', Upton, Uxbridge, and adjoining towns, and entered Camp Wool in the carly part of Angust, under the command of Captain Christopher Hastings, of Berlin. The company was filled to the maximum a few days after entering camp. Indeed, Captain Ilastings recruited men enough nearly to fill two companies.
Company K, like G and H, was formed of unassigned recruits from the various towns whose quotas reported at Camp Wool. James B. Smith, late first lieutenant in the Twenty-fifth Massachusetts Volunteers, was commissioned captain of the company.
On the 27th of August these ten companies, constituting the Thirty-sixth Massachusetts Volunteers, having completed their organization, were mustered into the United States service, for three years, unless sooner discharged.
---
5
ORGANIZATION OF THE REGIMENT.
1862.
The field, staff, and line officers were not mustered into the service until September 2d, the day the regiment left · Camp Wool for the seat of war. Indeed, for the most part, the field officers were not appointed until after the mustering in of the regiment.
Lieutenant-Colonel John W. Kimball, of Fitchburg, then serving in the Fifteenth Regiment, - a true and accomplished officer, - was commissioned colonel of the Thirty-sixth, August 11th, and application was made by Governor Andrew for his discharge from the Fifteenth, in order to accept pro- motion. But, in the critical state of affairs at that time, it was not deemed advisable by the authorities at Washington to grant the governor's request. Consequently, on the 22d of August. Major Henry Bowman, of the Thirty-fourth regi- ment, then at Camp Casey, on Arlington Heights, was pro- moted to the coloneley of the Thirty-sixth ; and, receiving his discharge from the Thirty-fourth, he at once joined his command at Camp Wool.
Captain John B. Norton, of Charlestown, who entered Camp Wool as captain of Company B, was commissioned lientenant-colonel, August 28th. and on the same day, James H. Barker, of Milford, was commissioned major.
James P. Prince, of Lyun, was commissioned surgeon, with Warren Tyler, of North Brookfield, and Albert II. Bryant, of Natick, as assistant-surgeons. Rev. Charles T. Canfield, of Worcester, was commissioned chaplain, and F. B. Rice, also of Worcester, as first lieutenant and quartermaster. An adjutant was not appointed until a later date.
The regiment was now nearly ready for the field. Most of the men had been hurried into camp, with the promise of a few days' furlongh before leaving the State. Many of them had left their business affairs unsettled and their families unprovided for. But all applications for furlough were denied by the United States officer at Boston, who was in charge of mustered regiment -. Colonel Ward endeavored io secure a furlough for the men ; but his efforts proved unavail-
6
THIRTY-SIXTH REGIMENT.
August,
ing. Colonel Bowman, on joining the regiment, and learning the condition of affairs, renewed these efforts, stating his unwillingness to leave the State until the pledge which had been given to the men had, in a measure at least, been redeemed.
On Saturday, August 30th, Colonel Bowman received orders to have the Thirty-sixth Regiment ready to leave for Wash- ington as early as September 2d. At the same time he was given permission to grant to his men furloughs for twenty- four hours, one-half of the regiment only to be absent from camp at the same time. This order was not received by Colonel Bowman until late Saturday afternoon. Accordingly, furloughs were granted first of all to those men whose homes were at the greatest distance from the camp. These were to return Monday morning, when the rest of the men would receive their furloughs. This second half of the regiment, by some mysterious process, became very small Saturday evening and on Sunday. The sentinels paced their beats, but in some instances so absorbed in their duties as seemingly to have lost the sense both of sight and hearing.
A sergeant, with a comrade, making the rounds of his guard late on one of these nights, found a faithful son of Erin walking his beat with soldier-like precision. As they approached he promptly challenged : "Who goes there?" and was as quickly answered. " Friend, with the countersign." As they approached to give the countersign, the sergeant asked, in confiding tones, "Could any one get out here ?" The sentinel. as contidingly, asked. " Would ve bring a little whiskey? Be jabbers a pint of whiskey might make a man both blind and dafe!" He then turned his back, and marched away.
But while it was a great disappointment to the men to lose the few days' furlough which had been promised to them, and especially to those who had important business interests that demanded attention, leading in some cases to a seeming dis- regard of discipline, yet all of the companies were in camp
7
1862.
ORGANIZATION OF THE REGIMENT.
on Tuesday morning. At an early hour on that day the company commanders drew arms (Enfield rifles ) and equip- ments for their men, and these were at once distributed among them. All was bustle and confusion throughout the camp. Few of the men had had any experience as soldiers, and the selection and adjustment of their arms and equip- ments, as well as the brief space of time allotted for these and other preparations for moving, made it look still more diffieult and annoying.
Late in the forenoon the regimental line was formed, and a beautiful national flag was presented to the regiment by Honorable P. Emory Aldrich, Mayor of Worcester. In presenting the flag the Mayor said : -
"Colonel Bowman, - Your friends, and the friends of your command in this city, have procured this beautiful banner, and requested me to present it to you as the worthy commander of the Thirty-sixth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteers for the war. It will be seen that its azure fold is studded with the full constellation of stars, representing the undivided Union, and that not one of the original stripes is omitted or erased, showing that, however much your friends may deplore the present unhappy condition of our distracted and bleeding country, they still firmly believe that, when the clouds of war that now lower upon us shall have passed away, these stars will again shine as from a clear and cloudless sky with none of their ancient lustre lost or obscured. And permit me to say that this flag, still unchanged and radiant, signifies, in the truest and highest sense, the kind of service expected of you and this noble regiment you are about to lead from this com- paratively peaceful camp of preparation to the stern and heroic duties of the field ; that you are to aid, by force of arms, in restoring the Union, which traitors have temporarily im- paired, and in reestablishing the supremacy of the constitu- tion and laws over every portion of territory lying within the acknowledged boundaries of the Union, from the great
-
8
THIRTY-SIXTH REGIMENT.
August,
lakes to the gulf, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific oceans, so that, when you and your brave comrades return, as we trust you will, with this flag, soiled and rent it may be by the smoke and leaden hail of battle,1 you shall bring it back, not as the sign of a shattered constitution, and dissevered Union, but as the proud emblem of a reunited and indi- visible republie, and then it shall continue to be known and honored throughout the civilized world. and everywhere be- come a free and safe passport to all men of every race who have the right to claim protection beneath its ample folds.
"In delivering this proud ensign of our nationality into your hands, your friends know they are entrusting it to one who is not only familiar with the ordinary duties of the soldier, but to one who has been tried and not found wanting amidst the perils and carnage of the battle-field, and who has suffered what is more intolerable to every true soldier than any dangers of field or camp, and that is captivity and confinement for weary months in the loathsome prisons of the enemy ; and now, after protracted and vexations delays, you have but recently been relieved from your parole, so that you can. without dishonor, enter again the military service of your country ; and. having availed yourself of the earliest opportunity to return to avenge your own and your country's wrongs. may a propitious Providence and all good influ- ences attend you, and protect you, and your command in every hour of trial and danger.
"Yours is the fourth regiment which has been organized within this enclosure, which may now very properly be called our Compus Martins, and the fifth that has gone out from our city within the last twelve months. The Fifteenth, beginning its brilliant carcer at Ball's Bluff,-where, indeed, it encountered a repulse for which neither its officers nor men were responsible. - has with signal gallantry fought its way over
1 " Soiled and sent," i- staff shattered, this flag, which was carried by the regi- ment throughout it- calice period of service, is now preserved in the State House, in Boston, with the days of the Me -- achusetts regiments.
9
1862.
ORGANIZATION OF THE REGIMENT.
many a bloody field to a high position on the roll of fame. And the Twenty-first and Twenty-fifth, being with each other in the performance of patriotic duty, and in the memorable race for military renown, have made Roanoke and Newberne, and other fields, wherein they have exhibited the highest qualities of the soldier, ever memorable both to friend and foe. And it is not altogether improbable that the Thirty-fourth, which took up its line of march but a few days since from this camp, under the accomplished Wells,1 may have already found itself involved in the smoke of its first battle, and taking its first lesson in the art of war. And scarcely will your regiment have left our presence, before another will encamp within the limits of the city. And we bid you tell our brethren in the field that thus shall regiment after regiment, in endless succession, be sent to their aid until this accursed rebellion is utterly extinguished.
"The lateness of the hour, the necessity of your moving at once, admonish me that I should omit a portion of what I had proposed to say on this occasion ; but this is of little account, and I would not delay your march for a single moment to listen to any poor words of mine. Words in this hour are simply air. Action - instant. resistless, heroic action - is the only thing that can avail us in this perilous crisis. And I can only add that, while you and these brave men who are to follow you, will do your full duty in upholding and restoring the authority of the constitution and its laws, you can never fail in loyalty, and the great idea of liberty which now inspires the hearts and nerves the hands of all the loyal men of the land; and that, when you have marched through rebel districts, none but loyal and free men shall be found. And now accept this standard, proffered by friendly hands, and let it be borne in your regiment as the emblem of liberty and law. And should you or any of those. your comrades in arms, fall in its defence, your memories shall be held in grateful remem-
1 Colonel Wells was killed near Cedar Creek, Va., Oct. 13, 1864.
10
THIRTY-SIXTH REGIMENT.
August,
brance, and history will preserve their names among those of heroes and martyrs who have died to defend or consecrate a great and noble cause. Remember that the life is longest which best answers life's great end, and that to die upon the battle-field in defence of the liberties of mankind is the most cherished road to immortality."
The band played the "Star-Spangled Banner," and Colonel Bowman responded in patriotic terms."
The several companies of the regiment then marched to Agricultural Hall. - a large building on the camp ground, - where a bountiful collation had been provided by the friends of the regiment. Then followed the filling of haversacks, the packing of knapsacks, and all were soon in readiness for the order to move.
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